DEAR DIDI: I was at Costco the other day and there was dog in the store wearing a vest that only said "In Training". I asked what the dog was in training for because she had a very grey muzzle and looked to be on the older side. The owner said "Companion Dog". I am very confused about the terms Therapy Dog, Companion Dog, Service Dog, Comfort Dog, and Working Dog. I know you've touched on this before but can you define these terms clearly for me? Obviously I would LOVE to take my well behaved dog into stores ...

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Covered California, held up as a jewel in the nation's up-and-down health care overhaul, is setting aside nearly $200 million to fight off projected budget shortfalls as it prepares for what it says is a challenging financial future without hundreds of millions of dollars in federal aid.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - The first significant storm to hit Northern California in 14 months produced impressive amounts of rain and snow over the weekend, National Weather Service forecasters said Sunday.

LOS ANGELES (AP) - During the recession, Los Angeles County lost tens of thousands of residents to the eastern counties of the Inland Empire despite the area's staggering unemployment rate, new Census Bureau estimates reveals.

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SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Legislation unveiled Friday in California would require smartphones and other mobile devices to have a "kill switch" to render them inoperable if lost or stolen - a move that could be the first of its kind in the country.

LOS ANGELES (AP) - A much-hailed law that restricted the opening of new stand-alone fast-food restaurants in one of the poorest sections of Los Angeles did not curb obesity or improve diets, a new study found.

STOCKTON (AP) - Three people were killed and four people were wounded in an apparent drive-by shooting at a Stockton convenience store that one official called one of the worst mass shootings in the city's recent history.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Francisco on Wednesday dismantled a sprinkler system it had installed at the city's cathedral during one of the worst droughts in California history to soak the alcoves and prevent homeless people from sleeping there.

SACRAMENTO (AP) - Two Democrats on Wednesday appeared headed to a May runoff for an open state Senate seat in the San Francisco Bay Area following a bruising primary that saw special interest groups pour in $2.1 million in campaign funding.

SAN DIEGO (AP) - California officials said Wednesday that the drought-stricken state set an unachievable bar to save the Salton Sea and outlined small projects aimed at staving off the demise of the state's largest lake, disappointing farmers, environmentalists and others.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - The mayor of San Francisco said Tuesday that four police officers under investigation in the sending of racist and homophobic texts will be fired if the probe determines they sent the messages.

YOUNTVILLE (AP) - A winery owner chased an investor through a Northern California vineyard and shot him in the head at close range as police approached before leading them on a short chase that ended with his apparent suicide, authorities said Tuesday.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Silicon Valley has no shortage of coffee shops where sleep-starved programmers and eager entrepreneurs sit hunched over laptop computers and talk about ideas for launching the next Google or Facebook. Now a giant tech company is opening its own cafe for the same clientele.